Determinants of dividend payout ratio of listed companies in Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange

Abstract

This paper was conducted to examine the determinants of dividend policy of listed companies in Ho Chi Minh stock exchange. By analyzing the sample data of 190 non-financial firms listed on Ho Chi Minh stock exchange in the period of 8 years, from 2008 to 2015, we found that profitability and liquidity had significant and positive relationship with the dividend payout ratio while risk was significantly negatively correlated with the dividend payout ratio. In addition, leverage and free cash flow showed no impact on the dividend payments of firms in the investigated period. Finally, it is evident that firm size can moderate the relationship between risk and dividend payout ratio. Keywords: Dividend policy, non-financial listed companies, HOSE.